Tags：Food and AgricultureKanto

The 4th Tasty Community Enrichment Symposium in Chiba was held on August 24 at the Soga Community Center in Chiba City. Tomomi Okazaki, bronze medalist in the women’s 500m speed skating event at the Nagano Olympics, gave a lecture titled “Promoting Health through Food Education,” and a panel discussion was held on the theme of “Spreading the Word ‘delicious’.” This event has been held annually since 2021 with the aim of contributing to the development of a healthy mind and body community and its people through food education, and this time approximately 200 people attended.

 

 

Following the opening address by Executive Committee Chairman Tsuneo Ishihara and the presentation of a congratulatory telegram from Chiba Mayor Shunichi Kamiya, Ms. Tomomi Okazaki gave a speech in the form of an interview conducted by Chiba Prefectural Assembly Member Yuko Suzuki. Ms. Okazaki looked back on the days she spent following and training with Councilor Seiko Hashimoto, bronze medalist in the women’s 1,500m speed skating at the Albertville Olympics, and pointed out that being aware of the purpose of the training can make a difference in results. After winning the bronze medal, she suffered from a herniated disc. Although no one has been able to return to competition after surgery, she sought the help of a registered dietitian and tried to recover from the inside by consuming healthy foods. She said that in addition to choosing healthy foods that do not contain preservatives, she also values the power of the ingredients, Japanese cuisine, and the joy of enjoying delicious food with family and friends.

 

After introducing and demonstrating exercises that can be done comfortably while sitting in a chair to train the abdominal and psoas muscles, she spoke about nurturing the next generation and emphasized the importance of encouraging children to think for themselves, especially as opportunities for them to experience nature and society are decreasing. She stressed that in order for children to thrive, it is important that the adults around them put health first and live each day to the fullest.

 

 

A panel discussion was held on the theme of “Spreading the word ‘delicious’.” With “delicious” as the keyword, the joy of eating food that are overflowing with the energy of the earth, production, distribution, and consumption are coming together to increase consumption of organic agricultural products and to promote the development of people and towns that are healthy in body and mind through food. Natural food enthusiast Noriko Takano, who lives in Chiba City, Shinichi Igawa, who cultivates crops using the Nature Farming method in Funabashi City, and Chiemi Ishizaki, who lives in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture and is the representative of the Minami Wakuwaku Community Enrichment Project, reported on their activities. The event was moderated by Kotaro Kato, a researcher at the MOA Health Science Center.

 

Takano explained that she is working with her friends to create a community for the elderly and children, hoping to alleviate the loneliness and isolation that has become widespread during the coronavirus pandemic. She said that the center provides a place for children to cultivate a volunteer spirit and for elderly people to enjoy life, with activities such as making paper balls and Hina dolls, enjoying naturally farmed matcha tea and newly harvested rice, and holding seminars on the Okada Dietary Program. In addition, she reported on her third son’s efforts to create a healthy town in Aichi Prefecture, centered on natural rice farming.

 

 

Igawa explained that while working as a company employee, he and a friend practiced the Nature Farming method in a 2000m2 field, cultivating more than 50 types of vegetables a year. He said that not only do the crops bring joy to those who eat them, but farming also helps maintain his own physical and mental health. He said it has been proven that light farm work improves physical strength, boosts the immune system, and has anti-stress and healing effects, and encouraged people to incorporate farming into their lives.。

 

Ishizaki detailed how the 、MOA Green Market’s exciting cafe serves meals made with safe and secure ingredients, and various lectures, farm experiences for children, and food education events are all enjoyed by parents and children. She hears voices of, “It’s so much fun! It’s delicious! I’m so happy! I want to do it again! I want to do it again! Hearing that is what gives me meaning in life,” she said, conveying how he values the fun and excitement of the restaurant.

 

 

Researcher Kato gave a report titled “Encouraging intestinal health through organic and Nature Farming products,” explaining that intestinal bacteria can be broadly divided into good bacteria, bad bacteria, and opportunistic bacteria, and that the balance between these affects health. When people who rarely ate organically grown agricultural products were asked to eat carrots grown using natural or organic farming methods for two weeks, the intestinal bacteria was found to be high in beneficial bacteria, suggesting that food can change the intestinal flora. He said that the key to healthy intestines is to increase the number of beneficial bacteria and create an intestinal environment that allows the beneficial bacteria to work effectively.

 

Hiroyuki Sekine, a member of the Narashino city council who attended the lecture, said, “When I think about the current situation in Narashino, I think that in order to advance the Green Food System Strategy, it is important to consider how we can change consumer awareness in the consumption part of procurement, production, processing/distribution, and consumption, and how we can get them to seek out organic and natural farming products. In that sense, it is very important that these meetings continue, so I am grateful for them.”

 

 

Co-hosted by the Tasty Community Enrichment Symposium in Chiba Executive Committee, MOA Food Education Network Chiba, and the MOA Nature Farming Culture Foundation Chiba Association Sponsored by: MOA Health Science Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Chiba Prefecture, Chiba City, Narashino City, Ichikawa City, Funabashi City, Sakura City, Yotsukaido City, Narita City, Yachimata City, Oamishirasato City, Izumi City, Ichihara City, Kisarazu City, Kimitsu City, Shirai City, Kamagaya City, Kashiwa City, Tomisato City, Kanzaki Town, Tonosho Town, Chiba Nippo Newspaper Cooperation: Association for Creating a Bright Society Chiba Branch